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Description
Ed’s Crazy Crab™
This grafted apple crab earns its name because, as shown in this picture, it pounds out the fruit! I have known this tree for three or four years, and I have yet to see it fail to set a heaving amount of fruit. Ed’s crazy Crab™ is prolific and sets fruit annually that falls all fall long. The tree is red-leaved and red-fleshed, producing a golfball-sized fruit dropping from October into the new year. Ed’s Crazy Crab™ has shown disease resistance across all major apple tree diseases in a no-spray situation. I have seen a small amount of cedar-apple rust, yet nothing to get excited about.
The original tree stands about 35′ tall and resides in plant hardiness zone 4b in New York. This tree begins dropping its apple crab in October, peaks during my favorite time during November, and retains some fruits dropping throughout December. The original tree resides in plant hardiness zone 4b, making it very hardy from zones 4-7. You will have a mature height of 20’+
The Ed’s Crazy Crab™ is made using plant tissue from the original tree and attaching it to the new roots. This process essentially gives you an identical tree to the one you see in the pictures and description.
TREE SIZE
2-3′ ( 3/8″ dia.) These trees will have a good root system. They will be whips around 3′ high with a trunk diameter of 3/8″.
3-5′ ( 1/2” dia.) These trees will have a good root system with some possible branching, but they will mostly be strong whips. They will range in height between 3′ to 5′ with around a 1/2″ trunk diameter.
4-6′ (+ 1/2” dia.) These trees will have an extensive root system and typically have multiple branches, but many will be solid whips, depending on the cultivar. They will range in height between 4′ and 6′ with a 1/2″ to 3/4″ trunk diameter.
STANDARD ROOTSTOCK
Ed’s Crazy Crab™ is grafted to the extremely cold, hardy, and vigorous Rootstock of Malus Dolgo. This Rootstock is an excellent choice for wildlife trees because it produces a full-size 20′ to 30′ tree. Producing a full-size tree for wildlife means much more fruit on a given tree. Malus Dolgo rootstock will develop deep “Real roots,” making it exceptionally well anchored, penetrating well into the subsoil, pulling up lost nutrients, and therefore making Malus Doglo rootstock very drought tolerant. Malus Dolgo is an excellent all-around rootstock for wildlife plantings.
This standard-size Rootstock is adaptable to many soil types and conditions. Therefore, with its full vigor, it can be used in areas that were wooded and are now food plots, reclaimed land, shale mountain soil, dryer uplands, and ridges. Always do a soil test and make appropriate amendments to your soil before planting. With improvements, Malus Dolgo rootstock will perform exceptionally well in that improved soil in an orchard-style setting. We are only grafting onto the most vigorous Malus Dolgo roots grown in a given year. When grafting onto the top 30% of seedlings grown, you get a rootstock about 40% more vigorous than many clonal stocks used for wildlife trees today. Malus dolgo is a crabapple rootstock and is very precocious, with many trees producing very quickly.
PLANTING INSTRUCTIONS FOR ED’S CRAZY CRAB™
Plant at least one different apple or crabapple variety close to Ed’s Crazy Crab™ for pollination. Chestnut crab and Turning Point™ make excellent pollinators, as well as most any crabapple or apple crab we sell, as they are all white-flowering crabapples. Don’t overthink pollination! The main thing is to plant different named cultivars together to receive adequate pollination. Plant all apples and crabapples in moist, well-drained soil with a pH between 5.8 and 7 and adequate nutrient levels for optimal growth.
If you have not completed a soil test, click here and improve your soil. I would highly recommend doing so. However, if you are not going to, I would recommend mixing 1 ounce for every three sq ft of 0-20-20 granular fertilizer in your soil at the time of planting. The first number tells you the percentage of nitrogen contained in the fertilizer. Nitrogen applied directly to the tree’s roots will cause death to your tree. Make sure the first number is zero or slow-release like osmocote.
Nitrogen is very mobile in the soil, and You can apply a small amount of nitrogen the following year as needed. The 2nd and 3rd numbers are Phosphorus and Potassium. Apply these two nutrients at or well before planting because they are immobile in the soil. Mix them through the soil. We recommend completing a soil test and making amendments for the best results.
Ed’s Crazy Crab™ requires 6 hours of direct sunlight for growth and fruit production. Space trees 20′ apart and use at least 5′ cages to protect your trees. This protection will ensure your deer eat your fruit in a few years, not your trees this year. A weed mat and aluminum window screen around the base of your tree with stone for mulch are also encouraged as this will prevent the voles from tunneling and destroying the tree’s base and root system.
SHIPPING/PICK UP
Shipping to Plant Hardiness zones 3 – 8. We ship on Mondays from mid-March until the last Monday in April. Dormant bare root trees need to be planted in spring while trees in your area are still dormant. You can select your ship date at check out! Select a ship date that coincides with you being able to dig in your soil and let your new trees wake up with trees in your area. If you are picking up your trees, the first week in April is perfect for planting in Pennsylvania. You can select your pick-up date as you check out on the website or call or email to make an appointment to pick your trees up.
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Additional information
Weight | 18 oz |
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Dimensions | 58 × 2.30 × 2.30 in |
Tree Size | 2-3' (3/8'' dia.), 3-5' (1/2'' dia.), 4-6' (+1/2'' dia.) |
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